The two seasons leading up to this year, one with the Kings and one with the Oilers, he put up a 13-10 record with a .907 SV% with the Kings. The year after that, he put up 26 wins with a .970 SV% with the Oilers. What do both of those teams have in common? Lack of good defense. Hell, the Kings haven't made the playoffs in five years and Garon still managed to put up pretty solid numbers and the Oilers have not been much better. I would say Fletcher's observation is pretty fair.

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"At 31, I think Garon is seen as a goalie that still has upside to his game, and maybe a more veteran presence with Marc might be good," Shero said after he sent goaltender Dany Sabourin, minor-league forward Ryan Stone and a fourth-round draft pick in 2011 to the Oilers for Garon.

"That's what happened last season," Shero said of 2007-08, when veteran journeyman Ty Conklin gave the Penguins a strong, 18-8-5 performance, primarily during Fleury's absence because of a high ankle sprain. Fleury watched how Conklin handled being the No. 1 goaltender, how he stick-handled, how he sparked at least some debate on whether Fleury should be handed back the starting job -- and it pushed Fleury to have a strong stretch drive and help the Penguins reach the Stanley Cup final.

It's just sad that we have find a veteran goaltender every damn year because Fleury feels the need to be pushed in the first place. It's not like the guy is in his first, second or third year. Other's feel Therrien is too hard on him. Therrien is hard on every player who is not playing up to expectations. Why should Fleury be any different? Why do some feel the need to treat this guy with velvet gloves? Particularly after receiving that huge salary. We shouldn't have to worry about hurting the guy's feelings every time Therrien calls him out. He's not six years old.

Yet, since his return he has proven that he still struggles with rebounds and let's in soft goals. Nevermind his inability to handle the puck behind his net. Last season, he had an offense that would put up 4-5 goals a game, he doesn't have that luxury this season and not every team/goaltender in the NHL has that luxury. He has to start stealing some games for us. That's why he's getting that huge paycheck. That's also why we drafted him first overall in the 2003 draft.

All of that aside, I see no reason why Garon can't push Fleury for the reasons already stated by Fletcher. While this team has other issues to resolve, it doesn't mean you simply ignore the one's that can be fixed. You have to start somewhere. Shero started by shipping off a goaltender who has looked like shit since early December, an unhappy and underachieving Ryan Stone and a fourth round pick that can be retainable. It's not like we shipped off a second or third round pick.

Now, it will be interesting to see if he chooses to go after a winger or two.

Q: Ray Shero's decision to trade Dany Sabourin (salary cap hit, $512,000) and Ryan Stone ($346,000) and a draft pick for Mathieu Garon (cap hit, $1.1 million) doesn't make sense based on those numbers. It doesn't appear to make sense based on a comparison of the performances of the two goalies this season, nor does it make sense based on the ages of the goalies, especially since Shero opted for Sabourin rather than keeping Ty Conklin who, along with Marian Hossa, is doing very well for Detroit this year. What is the upside of this trade for the Penguins, I don't see one.

Brian Hampton, Gaithersburg, Md.

MOLINARI: The upside, such as it is, is that Garon is an upgrade on Sabourin. The thinking here is that the deal won't make a major difference for the Penguins because, if No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury does not elevate his game to the level the Penguins expect and keep it there -- he certainly did that while stopping 33 shots in a 3-0 victory against the New York Rangers yesterday -- it won't matter who his backup is. However, Garon is generally regarded as a better goaltender than Sabourin -- presumably, most people recognize the perils of direct comparisons of the statistics of two players who played for different teams, against different opponents -- and if Fleury misses some time because of an injury, Garon might be able to get the Penguins a few more points than Sabourin would have.

And just to be clear, Shero did not "choose" Sabourin over Conklin at the end of last season. Sabourin signed a two-year contract with a one-way salary -- meaning he would make the same whether he was in the NHL or the minors -- before last season, while Conklin subsequently accepted a one-year deal that paid him a reduced salary when he played in the American Hockey League.

If the Penguins had re-signed Conklin, they would have had three goalies on one-way contracts this season, which means one would have been drawing an NHL salary to play in the minors. That wouldn't be a very prudent move for a team, while facing the prospect of greatly enhanced revenues when it moves into the city's new multi-purpose arena for the 2010-11 season, still is trying to use its financial resources wisely.

Since Garon's signing, Fleury has given up three goals over the last three games, helping the Penguins beat the Ducks (3-1) and the Rangers (3-0). While they lost against Carolina, goaltending was not the reason for the loss. You are not going to win many games by scoring one goal. Coincidence? After seeing what Conklin did with Fleury last season, I don't think so. After seeing how Fleury responds when he actually has a threat pushing him for his job, I don't think so.

Over the last three games, his rebound control has been excellent, particularly in the Carolina game. Zero softies allowed and he looks more focused in the net. As long as Fleury continues to play the way he has for over the last three games, we will not be seeing Garon in the near future. The second Fleury starts showing signs of failure, Therrien will not hesitate to see what Garon can bring to the table.

Eitherway, Garon is already doing half the job he came in here to do, make Fleury think. Pushing him to play better and be more focused. Let him know that he doesn't have the luxury of a spiraling Danny Sabourin 'threatening' him. Up to this point, it has been working....

Garon is expected to make his first start tomorrow night against Toronto according to the PPG. Also fwiw, Fleury is 3-1-0 with a 1.26 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage in the past four games.

Garon is expected to make his first start tomorrow night against Toronto according to the PPG. Also fwiw, Fleury is 3-1-0 with a 1.26 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage in the past four games.

I was one of the people who was against the trade, but it was definitely worth it if he continues to push Fluery into numbers like that.

I guess my reasoning was someone making 5 mil a year shouldn't need pushed to put max effort into his job. But what the heck do I know.

Garon is expected to make his first start tomorrow night against Toronto according to the PPG. Also fwiw, Fleury is 3-1-0 with a 1.26 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage in the past four games.

I was one of the people who was against the trade, but it was definitely worth it if he continues to push Fluery into numbers like that.

I guess my reasoning was someone making 5 mil a year shouldn't need pushed to put max effort into his job. But what the heck do I know.

And I agree with your reasoning 100%, but I don't think that was the only reason for the Penguins going out and getting Garon.

I tend to look at it as the Penguins getting a better backup goaltender in Garon compared to Sabourin. They upgraded a position that was weak. We are talking about an Oiler team who lost to the Sabres 10-2 this past Tuesday and yet they still sent Sabourin down to Springfield yesterday. I'm not sure what that's saying about Dany Sabourin, but it's not good.